Award for me?!?!

My friend Bridgett sent me a blog award. I feel so special today! She's such a doll. Be sure to check out her blog!

The rules for the Encouraged Blogger Award are:
1. The winner may put the logo on their blog. (I will.)
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award. (I did.)
3. Nominate 5 blogs. (See below.)
4. Put links to their blogs. (Just click on their name.)

5. Leave a message for your nominees. (done.)

Trudy
Stacy
Alison
Vicki
Carol

Don't judge a book by its cover...

Don't judge a book by its cover....except this one!!!

It was time for another "easy reading" book for me. I saw this on the "recent release" shelf at my local library. I saw the cover and knew I had to read it. And I'm so glad I did. This is a story of a grossly abandoned dog, Issy. Issy, a pure bread Border Collie, "lived" on a 3 acre fenced in area with a small dog house. He was fed by a local farmer that would stop by on occasion after his "family" just up and moved. For YEARS Issy would run up and down the fence line until he literally had a 2-foot trench that he ran in. Jon Katz, a writer. photographer, and animal lover, "adopted" him. Katz has a menagerie of rescued animals on his farm...my favorite is a bull named Elvis, if you read this book, you'll love him too!! You can look at the farm here and be sure to take a look at his wonderful photo album!!

NOW Issy is a Hospice volunteer!!! If you know and love animals, you know they have a sense about them. Jon did an amazing job at bringing Issy's story to life and relating to the reader the special bond that they share. This book relates how both Issy and Jon helped each other journey through their mental illness struggles, both coming out on top. I enjoyed this book so much that I can't wait to read another Katz book. So, sometimes it IS ok to judge a book by its cover!!

I'm seriously excited about making another trip to the library to get another Katz book!!! If you love photography be sure to check out his website where you can check out his fascinating farm journal (blog).

Happy 3rd Birthday Mason!!!

I can't believe that Mason is already 3!!! I can't believe how far he's come in 3 years. I take that back, I can't believe how far WE have come in 3 years. The memories of him struggling in the NICU seem so much longer than 3 years ago...yet in some ways it still feels like yesterday. I can still remember the wonderful feeling of him moving around inside my tummy. The joy in Mike's eyes (tears) when Teresa (our sonographer) said, "it's a boy". Seems like it was just yesterday when we were so fearful of his future and if everything would be ok. Today, Mason is a vibrant, energetic, beautiful, smart, wonderful, "all boy" boy. Gone are the days of spreadsheets and charts keeping track of medications and exact doses...now are the days of brightly colored charts with stickers tracking "good boy days" of no back-talking. Gone are the days of constantly running to various specialists, hospitalizations, and hours spent in waiting rooms...giving way to hours spent running and jumping and catching bugs. Gone are the days where I would literally spend hours on the phone sorting out insurance mistakes....now are the days spending time scheduling play dates and exchanging kid-friendly recipes.

You know, many people discouraged me from leaving a great job to "just stay home", "waste my talents", "waste a masters degree", "put the financial burden all on Mike", etc., etc.. While I can honestly say, I truly miss working....I am so glad that I am a stay at home mom. I am content with my decision. I have learned many many things about myself in my 3 years at home. I have become FAR less materialistic. I have learned to rely more on God. I have learned the valuable lesson of being content with what you have. I can't imagine missing out on all the little things that happen daily around here....you can't put a dollar sign on a hug in the middle of the day for no reason. You can't put a dollar sign on so many things I would have missed out on, not even realizing that I was missing out on them. Granted, it has been VERY hard with one income....especially since we had so much in medical bills with Mason. But for right now, I'm content with my decision....a job can wait, those cool shoes can wait, that awesome purse I JUST saw can wait, but parenting the most precious thing to ever step foot on this earth can't.

But I digress.....back to Mason :o)

We were thrilled to have his party outside as the weather was PERFECT! We had a Bob The Builder party. Sadly, Bob is hard to come by as PBS has taken him off the air.

Here are a few tidbits on Mason

• He LOVES his daddy and asks every (weekday) morning "where's my daddy".
• He already has a heart for the Lord and tells Mike and I ALL the time, "it's time to pray", "can we pray now".
• His favorite story is Jonah and the big fish.
• He loves babies.
• He LOVES animals (this can be scary as Mason thinks that all animals are good).
• He loves fruit.
• He loves Diego, Handy Manny, Bob the Builder, and Fireman Sam
• He loves books and loves to "read" to others.
• He loves to go to school and loves his teacher Mrs. Hendrickson.
• He loves to go to church.
• He loves his Nannie, Pop Pop and Paw Paw
• He has talked about fireworks EVERY SINGLE day since the 4th of July. And he has prayed for them EVERY SINGLE night. SERIOUSLY!!!
• He LOVES to help me with housework.
• He is fascinated with tools and carries them around everywhere.
• He loves to pray for his friends "Uncle Jim" and Marlene.
• He loves cement mixers.
• He loves John Deere Tractors.
• He is always telling us "I love you", "I like you a lot".
• He loves bugs.
• He would much rather pee pee outside than in the potty (told you he was all boy!!)
• He is 41lbs and 40 inches tall, wears a 5T and 10eee shoe.
• He is the biggest blessing God has ever given us.

If you are having financial problems....or even if you aren't I highly recommend Dave Ramsey to get you through it. If it had not been for his plan, I would have NEVER been able to stay home.

Halloween 2008

Mason was Handy Manny this year. Mason loves tools and loves to help his daddy fix anything!! The hat that came with the costume was so cheesy and fake looking. I knew I'd have to get a new cap and sew on a pencil, just like Manny has. In fact, the first thing Mason said to me when he saw the costume was, "where's my pencil". Thankfully, Mike found a hat exactly like Manny's. I also got Mason a pair of work boots (which he LOVES), and a tool box to use instead of a pumpkin to hold all his treats!!!

We did see other Handy Manny kids running around. But, I think adding the boots, hat, pencil and (the biggest hit) the tool box, Mason was the best Manny ever!

What a day

Poor Mason. We went to his 3 year old check up yesterday and apparently his eardrum has ruptured again. He gave NO warning signs like he has in the past. And he still has tubes. We got in to see the ENT today....of course it was during nap time. But what can you do?? We were in the office for 2.5 hours....but that is another story. Anyway, he may have to have his adenoids taken out and more tubes put in. In the mean time, his doctors are going to do some allergy testing on him.

Off we went to another room to have some blood drawn. Now remember that he just turned 3. There were 3 of us holding him. The nurse got the vein on the first try, but then he jerked.....and that was that. It was awful and he will have a terrible bruise. Instead of them trying again, I asked for a req to the hospital to have blood drawn there. We had to do this last year when they couldn't get a vein in the office. (Sadly, Mason is a hard stick, like myself).

So at the hospital, Mason knew what was coming. Mike could hardly hold him and one nurse was assigned to just one arm. Poor fella was screaming so bad they were afraid that he was going to pass out. Thankfully, it was a "seasoned" phlebotomist and she got him on the first try.....then we had to wait for the 3 vials to fill.

After an incredibly looooooong day, we took him to Burger King (my LEAST favorite place), so he could play in the play area (I'm a germophobe, but felt he earned it). We let him play for an hour or so, it was sooooo nice to see him laugh and run and jump after a day like today. When we got in the car he said "we had a good day today didn't we". When we got home he said "we had a fun day today didn't we". I am so thankful that we took him there and ended the day on a positive note.

After showering and brushing his teeth I ALWAYS read him stories. He is in the phase now where he likes to "read" to me. Well....tonight, was a special night as a special friend decided to join us for book time. I love this dog.

In spite of it all....what a GREAT day and what a PERFECT ending to any day....spending it with mans, or in this case...boys best friend.

Pictures can say a thousand words...

Can you tell that I'm not the only one that loves this dog?

Reading to a friend.

So sweet.

Is this not the sweetest?

Stanlie, wishing that this was a book about bones or chasing cats.

FYI -- we adopted Stanlie from the Animal Resuce Foundation in Tulsa.

Pat Tillman

WOW! This is probably one of the best books I've read in a while.

If you are a football fan, you know who Pat Tillman is. Trying to get your husband to read more, this may just be the book to get him started.

This book stirred up every emotion possible. I can't imagine what this family has gone through and I admire them for putting this down in a book. One question remians...vast government conspiracy and cover up that points all the way to the top...... or horrible accident......read it and decide for yourself.

VOTE!!!!

This is an historic election no matter which side of the isle you are on. I truly hope that you will exercise your right to vote today! I'm glad I live in a country where I can vote. I will not tell anyone who to vote for, just remember we will all be held accountable for it one day. Hopefully you have done your research (and your praying), but if not, you still have SEVERAL hours to do so!! Whatever your choice, get out there and vote. And if you do not vote today....you cannot complain tomorrow!! :o)